Barriers facing black and south Asian music events ‘cost London up to £141m a year’

Exclusive: Investigation finds racial inequality in live music industry rife and many genres labelled ‘high risk’ despite lack of evidence

Black and south Asian music events in London face disproportionate cancellations, restrictions and licensing barriers compared with white events, according to a two-year investigation into racial inequality in the capital’s live music industry.

The Race Equality in Music Event Licensing (REMEL) report, led by Black Lives in Music, estimates that cancellations, displacement and events prevented from taking place cost London £127m to £141m annually, with projected losses exceeding £650m over five years.